Zac Purton says he would not ride Ka Ying Rising any differently if he had his time again after angry punters turned on the champion jockey for deciding not to push forward on the world’s best horse early in Saturday’s $20 million Everest.
Hong Kong hero Ka Ying Rising was the shortest priced favourite in the race’s history as he chased a 22nd straight victory and second successive Everest.
However, Purton and Ka Ying Rising were trapped wide early and dropped to the back of the field before launching one last run, only to fall just short and finish second to Tempted.
Purton was not concerned by the attention online. His ride on Lake Forest at last year’s corresponding meeting in the King Charles III Stakes was blasted by connection Maureen Haggas as “about the worst I think I’ve ever seen in my entire life”.
He said now he had time to reflect on Ka Ying Rising’s performance, there was nothing he would change.
“That’s Australia; everyone has an opinion,” said Purton, the Hong Kong-based Australian regarded as the world’s best jockey. “They shoot from the hip before they digest it properly.
“You change the barrier with the winner [Tempted] and it changes the result. I guess you could say that about a lot of races.
“The moment we drew 11, our hand was dealt a bit.
“Nobody would have predicted the leaders would go out as quick as they did – they went so fast, the three of them [Savvie Hallie, Blue Door and Spicy Martini] collapsed and fell in a hole.
“If I rode the ears off my horse to be up there with them, he may have collapsed and fallen in a hole as well.
“I didn’t have a choice other than to come back, pop in, give him a chance with some cover, and let him finish the race off, which he did.
“I never felt like I was going to get there. For a long time in the straight, it felt like he was going nowhere.
“It wasn’t until Headwall came up next to him that he started to fight and find something. It was just too late.
“In Hong Kong he’s so switched on and locked in to what he needs to do. But he gets to Randwick, and it was like he was having his second or third race start again, and can’t put it together. He still ran well and certainly lost no admirers.”
Tempted’s jockey Chad Schofield and trainer Ciaron Maher pinched the world’s richest sprint feature, but the huge Randwick crowd had come to see Ka Ying Rising continue his amazing record.
Bookies saved millions of dollars in payouts, especially because Ka Ying Rising was the final leg in multi bets involving the various football codes from throughout the respective seasons.
Purton said during the week he was slightly disappointed after the win last year because the Australian racing fans had not seen him at his dominating best.